Over 25 years ago, three historical educators met in a native lodge in Shelburne , Massachusetts to talk about how they could best serve their heritage by making sure that the educational classrooms for young people were presenting not only authenic facts of the native culture in history, but also how they could keep the colors, the smells, the designs and most of all, the truth, in education about the Native people . And so the Woodland Village Classroom Program was born, out of the necessity to keep young people informed about such an important part of their own culture, and equally important the desire to keep the beauty of native culture alive.

Gale Blacksnake

Director Woodland Village

Descended from the Eel River Band of the Miami Indians, Gale Blacksnake has been Director of Woodland Village for more than 30 years. She brings her rich experience as a historical presenter and storyteller to the classroom. You can be guaranteed that your classroom will be mesmerized as Blacksnake brings each artifact alive.

Blacksnake

In the Beginning ~ 1975

Blacksnake

Still going stong ~ 2017

James Whitbeck

Woodland Village~ 1988

James Whitbeck,

Historian /Artist 2017

James Whitbeck

Artist and Historian Woodland Village

Our Dutch historian and artist brings his many years of presenting programs for Historical Institutions to your classroom. Dressed in his 1650 authentic colonial clothing he brings a powerful image of the past to your classroom.Whitbeck adds a balance to the classroom dialogue of history and culture by presenting the Colonial view as the Europeans encountered the Natives of America

Woodland Village is an award winning Educationally based cultural program that explores the history and lifestyle of the Native Indian peoples of America.

Phone number is 413-695-5628

CALL FOR A BOOKING NOW

Located in Western Massachusetts

Serving New England

HERE IS OUR CLASSROOM PROGRAM IN A NUTSHELL

What should we expect?Our staff will bring over 50 authentic objects from the Native Culture which will be presented in a circle, in the intimacy of your classroom. Each object contains a personal story: Why was it created, what is it made of, how did people use it, and what did it mean to the Natives?Each child will not only choose the item that interests them most, but will stand up and enter the circle of history, and pick up the item, feeling the texture, weight and material of the piece as they present it to Blacksnake or James. Then they return to their place and listen to the history and story of the piece they chose. Teachers should join us in the circle, as we are giving them a lesson in presenting history as well.

How long is the presentation and what ages are appropriate?We allow an hour for each circle, some go longer, some shorter, but in general an hour is a good time to use for your classroom planning. Presentations are intended for single classrooms. Although our circle is mainly designed for an Elementary and Secondary School Program, we have presented for many Kindergarten classes and can design a program for you.

What is the cost? Our daily rate is $ 600.00 for two presenters, we do not charge extra for mileage or materials. Often classrooms will split the cost between multiple classes. For instance, 4 classes will each donate a $150.00 towards a share of the daily cost, while 3 classes would donate $200.00 of their budget. We require a deposit, equal to 1 day’s presentation, at the time of your booking. We fill up quickly once we are into January, so we recommend that you book us as soon as you decide to invite us. We are already filling up quickly for the Fall of 2015.

How many presentations do you do in a visit?We offer up to 4 presentations per Day Visit. Some schools choose to have us for less classes, such as only 3 presentations, but the daily fee is the same. Our programs are very lively and take a lot of energy from our presenters. We have found that 4 presentations a day keeps our program fresh, crisp and vibrant. We are not entertainers, but are trained teachers and therefore do not present in an auditorium.

Can you combine classes to save money for the school? No, as each child gets to pick their own object, combined classes are too large to give each student the fair measure of personal attention that we intend or that they deserve. If schools want us to present to more than 4 classrooms, it requires a booking of more than one day. Many schools have us presenting in the classroom for multiple days, even for a week.

Is your program authentic? Our presenters are all of Native Descent and highly educated and informed of the Native’s place in history. We make sure that although we present accurate facts about the historical past, we also make sure that no student ever feels any criticism from us about historical relations between Native and European Culture. We are there to talk about everyday village life of Natives, not politics.

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ONE THING THAT WE ARE NOT: WE ARE NOT VOLUNTEERS AND WE ARE NOT HOBBYISTS

WE ARE A TEAM OF PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS AND HISTORIANS

Otter Woman (Kathy Kennedy )

Montessori Consultant Program Designer

Otter Woman

Woodland Village ~1988

Our Program Director, Kathy Kennedy Llamas is a former Montessori teacher who graduated from the International Montessori Training Center in Bergamo, Italy. Before joining our staff as Educational Consultant, Kathy taught at Simsbury Montessori and Amherst Montessori as an Elementary Classroom Head teacher.

Kathy has designed our classroom programs using the basic tenets of the Montessori teaching:

“Give your children as many opportunities for hands-on learning as possible.”